“The sanctity of human life cries out for a strong response,” said Justice Beverly Klatt of the 2021 slaying of Ahi Ebrotie.
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Abdimalik Dahir Mohamed received a 10-year prison sentence for manslaughter in relation to the 2021 slaying of Ahi S. Ebrotie.
Justice Beverly Klatt delivered her decision on the matter in Regina’s Court of King’s Bench on Monday.
Mohamed went to trial facing a charge of second-degree murder. He was one of two men who Klatt found to have been in proximity to Ebrotie when he was shot at least 11 times outside of an east-Regina condo building on Nov. 14, 2021. Klatt called the killing “execution style.”
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The other man, Ismail Ahmed Hassen, is still wanted for murder by police — a point seized on by the judge Monday.
However, there was no evidence to prove who pulled the trigger.
Ebrotie was called to the condo building after he was kicked out of a Regina nightclub and broke a window at that venue. A number of people associated with the nightclub were in attendance at a party in the condo, including Mohamed.
The judge said she could not conclude beyond a reasonable doubt that Mohamed knew of a plan to commit murder, and it therefore could not be found that he intended on assisting in the commission of a murder.
“However, I infer from all the circumstances that Mr. Mohamed knew that an unlawful act was planned for the victim,” she said when she convicted Mohamed of the lesser offence of manslaughter in May.
On Monday, she made a point of noting that surveillance footage showed a vehicle said to have been Mohamed’s was moved closer to the building, and that after the shooting, Mohamed did nothing to save Ebrotie, instead choosing to speed off with Hassen, who remains at large.
“He has successfully eluded arrest because of the actions of Mr. Mohamed.”
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Furthermore, the shooting happened near a building where a number of people were living, and the judge noted the gun has never been found, which means it may still pose a risk to society.
She also referred to statistics that show Saskatchewan had seen an increase in firearm-related violent crime, which she said was cause for concern.
She spoke about the need for the sentence to meet the objectives of denunciation and deterrence.
“The sanctity of human life cries out for a strong response,” the judge stated.
The judge took into consideration the show of “obvious” remorse offered by Mohamed and the man’s personal circumstances. She described him as a 34-year-old who came to Canada from Somalia when he was a child. In this country, he was said to have experienced racism and financial hardship. However, at the time of the offence, he was not experiencing financial challenges.
The judge noted that while the man’s criminal record was not extensive, it included a number of drug-related entries, and led her to conclude that “he is more involved in drugs than he is willing to admit.”
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She found his degree of responsibility to be high, noting he was “old enough not to be swayed into a plan or follow unwillingly.”
“The evidence satisfies me that he was a willing participant, ready to play his part.”
The sentence Klatt imposed was lengthier than the range of six to eight years suggested by the defence, but fell short of the 13-year sentence sought by the Crown.
After receiving credit for time served on remand, Mohamed has just over six years left on his sentence.
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